Plowed today, Impression of R4 has changed.

[mike69440]

The first time I plowed, without my wheel weights, the L-39 did fine with the R4's. It was a cold day and the snow was dry and crunchy.

I plowed again today, with the extra 530 lbs added but plowing soft wet snow. The R4's were like a hockey puck on ice. My front drive 96 beater Buick had more traction. I was spinning in 10th gear!

If I use the L-39 to plow, I will get front and rear chains for next winter.

A beater plow truck makes make more sense for a warm seat and cab.

 

[Thomas]

Yup,that type of snow we just got tire chains sure came in handy Mike....no storms in sight,and maybe after this coming cold snap the snow banks will start to melt...I am ready for spring.

 

[MadReferee]

My chainless tractor owner neighbor just chuckles when he sees my rear chains on the R4's. He wasn't laughing this past week though. I am sure he will have chains next year too.

 

[redlevel]

When I saw the post title I thought you were getting ready to plant corn.

 

[shvl73]

I've actually had good luck w/o chains so far. This past storm turned to rain here and the blower cleared it very well, no clogs in the chute, not even close. I was suprised, it was real wet and heavy. It did take a little slower speed but, thats ok. I've got the skid shoes set all the way down so I don't pick up too many rocks, so I used the loader in float to finish up. The traction was pretty good. I've been cutting through the field from the stalls to the compost pile out back and it handled that ok as well. Two areas have a bit of short incline, It side-slipped a little once, although I was hitting it at an angle, but thats about it. So far - so good.

 

[Northland]

I had to buy chains (v-bar ladder chains) for my B7800 w/R-4's as my traction was poor in trying to push any amount of snow. That and on any type of slope the tractor had a tendency to slip slideways. I had the B7800 hung up againts a maple tree along side my driveway.

While the chains work very well and are worth the $ I have had a **** of a time getting them fitted properly. They were too loose so yesterday I took out a cross section in order to shorten the chain. I then pulled and proded until I have the stupid things as tight as they can go. I am heading out now to plough 5 inches of fresh snow from last night so I do hope they stay positioned well.

 

[5030tinkerer]

A trick I've used with tremendous success in the past was to lower the inflation way down on the tires, install the chains, and then air the tires back up again. Makes for very snug chain installations...

 

[Northland]

A trick I've used with tremendous success in the past was to lower the inflation way down on the tires, install the chains, and then air the tires back up again. Makes for very snug chain installations...

Thanks for that advice. I think my grunt method paid off as my one chain held on well throughout my morning ploughing.

 

[MossRoad]

A trick I've used with tremendous success in the past was to lower the inflation way down on the tires, install the chains, and then air the tires back up again. Makes for very snug chain installations...

Yep. That's the way I did my lawn tractor every fall. Works great!

 

[Adiredneck]

I have a "hodge podge" chain setup on my L3400. I have a v-bar chain on the right side & a regular chain on the left side. Both don't see very much ice in between the lugs of my R-1's though. This summer I'll have a better set all the way around with the connecting links in the middle to keep them out. I want the front chains for steering. With the bucket in scrape-mode, the tractor just wants to go straight all the time.

 

[simonmeridew]

Hi Adi
You'll find that if you separate the brakes into right and left you can steer quite effectively with your feet when you're plowing. This technic also helps turn sharper than just the normal steering wheel action.
simonmeridew

 

[guyrj33]

When I picked put my B7800 the dealer said R4's were for pavement, and the turfs would do fine in snow. He was right the turfs do a good job in snow, they do have a lot of biting edges. In mud the turfs clog up instantly.

Guy

 

[mike69440]

I'll chirp in again.

On cold dry crunchy even hard frozen snow I thought the R4 alone worked great. At 4 tons the L39 pushes a huge pile before it spins or bogs down.

On wet slushy icy snow I could not even maintain traction up a moderate grade, never mind push snow! The L39 started sliding backwards. Ye-Hah! Fortunately it slid into the shallow ditch side, not the 5' drop off and trees.

Had it slid that way I could have been hurt or had a crunched tractor.

I was stuck, but I dropped a stabilizer, turned the front wheels and let her spin till the front end swung downhill and I was able to pull out of the ditch.

This is the grade I was trying to plow. I plowed 3/4 way up.
I think I will work some more to get some of the grade out of the road.

 

[Northland]

I'll chirp in again.

On cold dry crunchy even hard frozen snow I thought the R4 alone worked great. At 4 tons the L39 pushes a huge pile before it spins or bogs down.

On wet slushy icy snow I could not even maintain traction up a moderate grade, never mind push snow! The L39 started sliding backwards. Ye-Hah! Fortunately it slid into the shallow ditch side, not the 5' drop off and trees.

Had it slid that way I could have been hurt or had a crunched tractor.

I was stuck, but I dropped a stabilizer, turned the front wheels and let her spin till the front end swung downhill and I was able to pull out of the ditch.

This is the grade I was trying to plow. I plowed 3/4 way up.
I think I will work some more to get some of the grade out of the road.

oh, that must have given you that sinking feeling.

I had that happen with my B7800 until it lodged up sideways against two maple trees. Thankfully a neghbour happened by and we pulled it out with my truck but not before we had one of the maples lodged between the back blade and tractor. I had to either take the back blade off or cut down the maple. I cut the maple as it was a scraggly little thing and took less time then taking the back blade off.

After I got stuck once more in deep snow and had to shovel my tractor out I bought chains

 

[slowzuki]

Tractor tires in general aren't good on ice but I did pull a Ford Superduty out last night that was stuck on ice trying to plow open a road. Nary a wheelspin out of the bota but he couldn't move anywhere but into the snowbank. He had a v-plow on the front.

 

[WayneW]

I have a VERY long, steep drive way in Western Mass. Over the past 15 years, I've cleared snow with:

1. '79 Ford F150 4x4
2. '53 McCormick Farmall Cub with Ags. (R1) and chains. (2WD)
3. B7610 with bar/turf tires.

By far, my choice is the 7610. The bar tires are very soft and grab, even on ice without much slippage. I use no extra weight, except for the loaded tires, and no chains. I've even stopped dead on a steep grade with ice, then continued, without much trouble. (locking the rear diff in a few instances)

Second choice would be the Cub. Slow, but capable. Highly maneuverable. With chains in the rear and weight, could get unstuck by applying a left or right brake to get the other tire to spin. I Did try ONCE without the chains. R1 tires make wonderful ice skates.

Surprisingly, the F150 is my last choice. Used this for more years than I'd care to admit. (was faster than the Cub, only reason it did get so much use). Automotive tires (regardless of type) are designed to get 25,000-50,000 miles of wear as a top priority. Traction is 2nd or possibly 3rd, after fuel economy. Some are better (obviously) than others on snow. (I tried a few) None were great. (open rear diff didn't help either)
The heated cab in the truck was nice, but I don't miss the fogged up windows & mirrors.

The Kubota can push snow and snowblow up the driveway effortlessly, in spots I had to charge up (with the plow raised) with the truck. I have never used R4s on the Kubota, so I can not comment on them, but judging on how poorly the R1 tires did on the Cub without chains, I would guess the R4 tires would perform similarly. (Both have a harder rubber compound) Never tried straight turf tires on the Kubota either. But as others have stated here, would think they'd be good also. (my front tires are regular turfs)

 

[WALT]

Mike:

I have the same set-up. 80'-100' stretch of driveway w/ 10% grade up to the street. I was able to save a old 7' plow from the dump and fix it up for my L-39.

After some trial and error, I have found that unchained R-4's will only plow effectively downhill to level grade. The drag of plowing uphill breaks the tires loose. I also lower the tire pressure in winter, for better ground contact.
The wet "mashed potato" snow is tough to plow due to it's weight & sticking to the plow. The plow blade straightens as it fills with snow, and the rear of the tractor slides out. In that situation, you take smaller bites/passes of the snow, and slow down your speed. If you had not already, drop your attachments down to the ground to stop your slide. 7000 lbs. is a lot of momentum to control when it breaks loose. Glad to hear you or the L-39 were not injured.

While it takes a few more passes with plowing downhill only, you go with what works for you.

Was -2 this morning, now it is 40 degrees out, with 55-60 predicted for early next week. Snow will be melted and winter done. Get ready for Mud season....

WALT

 

[WayneW]

Mike:
I have the same set-up. 80'-100' stretch of driveway w/ 10% grade up to the street. I was able to save a old 7' plow from the dump and fix it up for my L-39.
WALT

Use caution when attaching plows (esp from other applications) on the loader arms, they are usually mounted too far out away from the front of the tractor. This allows the weight from snow build up in front of the plow, to use leverage in it's favor, and against the tractor. It is even more apparent with a lighter tractor.

Two local Kubota dealers (and a Kioti dealer) warned me against this when I was considering the front (loader arm mount) blades by Curtis. The proper blade made for the tractor is mounted much closer to the frame of the tractor, and does not "hang out" as far as loader mount units. Helps make a much more efficient plowing machine.

 

[Stef]

About tires for snow removal. My dealer advised me to keep turfs on the tractor (he has a big snow removal company and all his M95/105/125 are mounted with turf tires). I must say a was a bit surprised about that statement but it works very well. He told me that if, for any reason, I'd need chains the turf tires are very well suited for that purpose because the chains stay in place far better than on R4. He has a lot more experience than me about snow removal so I guess it'd be wise for me to believe what he's saying.

 

[WALT]

WayneW:

Those dealer observations are true. As with any owner created stuff, the burden is on the owner-designer to not exceed the limits of the tractor. After experimenting, it was determined that the proper angle of use means that the loader arms are raised, raising the center of gravity, and placing more stress on the loader arms. As the L-39 loader frame is permanently mounted and stronger than the L-series loaders, I believe it can handle the load that the plow creates.

The plow does project out 24"+ forward of the quick attach plate, creating the leverage that you referred to. As such, you need to account for this when turning & backing, in addition to avoiding solid non-moving items like trees, stones, buildings etc. Whacking that stuff increases the chance of damaging the loader arms, plow/frame and tractor.

I'm guessing the plow & frame were at the dump due to the fact that the plow steel was cracked and frame bent from numerous contact with the above mentioned stuff. I welded, reinforced & un-bent the obvious damaged stuff. I spent around $200.00 including the quick attach plate, steel, paint etc. to restore this. I think that the Curtis plow new is around $2000.00

I feel that I have a usable attachment at a reasonable price. However, as I am the only operator of the tractor/plow, I know it's limitations, and stay within them.

WALT